Everest | Pakistan

Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a blizzard near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet were guided to safety by rescuers, Chinese state media reported on Sunday, as unusually heavy snow and rainfall pummelled the Himalayas. As of Sunday, 350 trekkers had reached the small township of Qudang, while contact with the remaining 200-plus trekkers had been made, CCTV reported. Visitors to the remote valley of Karma, which leads to the eastern Kangshung face of Everest, were in the hundreds this week, taking advantage of an eight-day National Day holiday in China. “It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk,” said Chen Geshuang, who was part of an 18-strong trekking team that made it to Qudang. “The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly,” Chen told Reuters. Snow, thunder and lightning Snowfall in the valley, which lies at an elevation averaging 4,200 metres, began on Friday evening and pers...

Mountaineer Saad Munawar on Saturday became the first Pakistani to summit the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest (8,848.86 metres), from its northern face. Earlier this month, two other Pakistani mountaineers achieved feats of their own, with renowned Pakistani climber Sajid Ali Sadpara summiting the world’s seventh highest peak, Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), without oxygen or porter support on May 11 and renowned Pakistani climber Sirbaz Khan successfully summiting Mt Kangchenjunga (8,586m), the third highest peak in the world, without supplemental oxygen on May 18. Munawar’s official Facebook account confirmed the feat, writing that he “raised the green flag at the summit of [the] highest peak in the world”. “This is the first time that a Pakistani has summited Mt Everest from the north side,” the post added. “Saad has safely descended back to Camp 3 for the night. Requesting prayers for safe descent back to the base camp during the next days.” According to climbers, the route to summit Everest’s northern face...